Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

claralara wrote: »

Hello all!

I see Mr Slow has posted a couple of chapters from my 'Chronicles for Insomniacs' for you guys to read.

I've been running for about 3 years now. I cannot remember how or why I started but I'll root out the old diary and try put some perspective on it. I ran a couple of 10k races in 2009. In January 2010, I set myself the goal of runnning a HM in June. I followed a Hal Higdon Half Marathon for Beginners program pretty much to the letter and ran my first HM in Kildare in May 2010. When I started training, I wanted to run sub 2:20. By race day, I wanted to run sub 2:05. I ran the race in 2:04.xx damaging my right ankle in the process. I was off my feet for 5 weeks afterwards and was very nervous running for the first time after that. I eased myself back in and basically had to start from scratch again. In October 2010, I signed up for the Connemara HM the following April so that I'd have a goal and something to train for and keep me honest. I ran my longest training run to date just before Chirstmas 2010. It was my first Boards group LSR and we ran 14 miles at 10m/m pace. I was on a high having run further than ever before and somehow let Menoscemo talk me into switching my Connemara entry from the half, to the full marathon. After the excesses of Christmas, and looking at the 14 weeks I had to get into marathon shape, I started to regret my decision. My first attempt at a post-christmas 10 mile LSR ended up being 3 miles of hell and a walk back to the car. I had so many bad runs in my training for Connemara that really made me question my sanity and or ability. However, the good runs more than made up for the bad ones. I'll never forget finishing my first 20 mile run and sitting on the ground in the papal cross car park while Mr Slow said I looked like I'd just slept with a hanger in my mouth. I'll also never forget my second 20 mile run; every mile of which was a nightmare. I don't know how I got through it. And what's more I don't know how I convinced myself to ever put on my runners again. But I did. Everyone's advice before Connemara was to ENJOY IT! You'll never get your first marathon back. Regardless of what you run, it will be a PB. Luckily for me, Connemara was not the place to be chasing a fast time. I will never forget my experience - it was fantastic. It was tough and there were parts where it hurt. A lot. But the positives far outweighed the negatives. I met so many lovely people from all over the world. I ran with people who'd been running marathons for years and with people who were running their first like myself. I finished in 4:28 and burst into tears at the finish line. The feeling of achievement was phenomenal. It's a reward for hard work that you have done and it's all your own to claim.

I then took the requisite break that I knew my body needed and just ran for the sake of running. Ran as and how (distance and pace) I wanted and my love for being out on the road just continued to increase.

I then signed up for Dublin 2011 which was 6 months after Connemara. The goal was that elusive sub-4. The training was tough and I pushed myself too hard. I couldn't break 52 mins for 10k and when I fell over the line of the Dublin Half barely breaking 2 hours, I knew there was something up. Finally listening to my body, I went to the doctor only to learn that my bloods were in bits. I decided to ease off (still did the mileage but didn't give a sugar about pace or pushing myself over the edge) and settle for a comfortable 4:15-20. It wasn't fair on my body and I had to be sensible and train sensibly. On the day, I ended up being so rested, and all the slow miles in my legs paid off. I ran a comfortable 3:53 and enjoyed every single minute of the marathan. The Dublin marathon is just fantastic - the crowds and the support are so different to Connemara and it was great in a completely different way.

The next step was the Connemara Ultra which was decided upon over a drunken handshake between myself and Digger in November 2011. When I sobered up and saw sense I questioned what we were signing up to do but both of us were too stubborn to walk away. Training for this was just mileage and mileage and more mileage. Typically there were good runs and bad runs and even worse runs. The bad ones made us doubt the insane distance we were taking on; the good ones made us feel invincible! Part of this journey was the Donadea 50k race and a 30 mile run whereby we parked the car in Bray, got the DART to Howth and ran back. The 3/4 months spent training for this was interesting - I won't go into further detail...

I ran the 2012 Connemara Ultra (39.3miles) in 5:48.10 - the goal had been to break 6 hours - and the feeling crossing the finish line was indescribable. After that, the legs needed a break so a month was spent trotting around doing whatever I wanted/felt like doing. The next goal was the Berlin Marathon at the end of September so I had room for downtime. I joined a club as I decided I could do with some structured trainig and I was luckily offered the luxury of personal coaching for Berlin.

Since then training has gone great and I'm feeling really positive about Berlin. I couldn't believe how well Longford went at the weekend and it just goes to show what anyone can do. Trust me, if I can do it with no history of running/school sports/etc (I was always the one who 'particpated' or got the spirit prizes...), then anyone can do it.

I just wanted to share a (very brief) version of my story with you guys just to show what possibilities are out there. Training is tough and it requires time and dedication and self motivation and all those things that aren't necessarily always easy to come by, but the rewards are more than worth it. Train sensibly. Enjoy the good runs. More importantly, don't forget the bad ones - they're what make us stronger - mentally and physically. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy your first marathon. And enjoy crossing that finish line! I promise you'll swear 'never again'... I also promise, you'll be looking at the marathon diary within 48 hours seeing what the next goal will be!

Wishing you all the very best of luck!

Apologies for the rambling but it's what I'm famous for (I also haven't read over the above so apologies for spelling and grammar errors!)

tang1 wrote: »

From your picture in FIT, the Longford Half didn't take to much out of you. Fantastic time, well done.

Mr Slow wrote: »

She used to grimace, now she beams

career_move wrote: »

Claralara thanks for your post. I was with you when you paced 1 50 in portlaoise and I was thrilled with your win in Longford. It must be very satisfying to have put in so much hard work and get the rewards you deserve. Hopefully you'll have another fantastic race in Berlin